Loofah material



Patented Nov, 9, was.

tll ill'fill STATES we it" LOOEAH' MATERIAL.

No Drawing.

In the ordinary commercial use of loofah a large amount of waste occursfor example in the manufacture of insoles for boots as the insole iscutfrom the loofah and much of the unused part is thrown away as waste,also loofahs which by reason of surface damage or inferior quality areunsuitable for manufacturing purposes.

According to this invention I break or tear loofah, more particularlywaste loofah or loofahs of inferior quality, care being taken not to cutthe loofah into small pieces or to press it under heavy pressure, ascutting and pressing cause loofah to lose its properties and I soregulate the process of breaking or tearing that the product may beeither a fine or a coarse loofah down. The loofah may be broken or tornin a breaking or tearing machine which usually comprises cylinders withtearing teeth; a suitable machine may be bought on the open market andis known as a hard waste opening machine.

Loofah down may be used for any purpose such as socks and insoles ofboots, stuffings for mattresses, cushions, and as a sole filler forfootwear, and for any like purposes to which fibrous mater1als are put.

Application filed January 2, 1926, Serial No. 79,033, and in GreatBritain January 221, 1325.

In the manufacture of insoles, mattresses or cushions, a bag of textilematerial or loofahs or any other suitable material is filled with loofahdown and enclosed with a row of stitching. The down is evenly distributed in the bag and is then quilted. A sole or other article is cutout from the filled bag and is then sewn round the edge in order to holdthe material together.

A stuffing of loofah down is found superior to hair and flock as is nowemployed, in that it is light, resilient and odourless, and does notlose its properties when sub jected to damp.

What I claim is 2-- 1. The process of making loofah down from pieces ofloofah which consists in tear ing apart the individual uncut fibres ofsaid pieces until they are loosely related to each other.

2. As an article of manufacture loofah down having the individual uncutfibres in very loose relation to each other, thus forrning a lightresilient material.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname this 15th day of December, 1925.

GLADYS MAR-Y DASH.

